Completed Event: Women's Basketball at Eastern Kentucky on March 19, 2026 , Loss , 58, to, 72
Final Score
Women's Basketball
58
at Eastern Kentucky
72
The University of Utah Athletics
Utah Women's Basketball Italy Blog #4
5/20/2009 12:00 AM | Women's Basketball
May 20, 2009
The Utah women's basketball team returned on Tuesday from a tour of Italy. Below, several of the women share their final thoughts on the trip.
I would first like to start out with a big bon journo and let you know that Italy is awesome. Yesterday we got to spend the day in Venice. When we arrived, pigeons immediately bombarded us. They were everywhere in St. Marks square. It seemed like every time I turned around one was coming in for the kill. These pigeons are not shy by any means. At first I couldn't figure out why these crazy birds kept attacking us, until I was hit with some bird food that a local was throwing at us. He was laughing at how we would scream and swat at the incoming birds. After our foot tour, we got a chance to go to the glass blowing plant. We were able to get a demonstration of how they do it and it was incredible. The guy who was forming all the glass made a vase in like 1 minute flat, which we thought was impressive, but then he finished up with a horse that he just whipped out in less than a minute. It was awesome. It looked just like a horse. After that it was time to hop on a gondola ride. It was rather shaky at first. I am telling you, any movements and you may have ended up in the lagoon. After the gondola ride, we finished up with a couple of hours of shopping and gelato of course. As a whole, the day was great. We loved seeing all the shops churches and people and all managing to avoid any pigeon poop at the same time. Ciao.
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Today is our 8th day on the trip and we are currently in Padova. We spent most of the day in Venice which is about an hour away from our hotel in Padova. Being that Venice is surrounded by water, we took a water-taxi, (just a small boat), to get to Venice. There, we met up with the best tour guide we have had so far, in my opinion. We got to see the main attractions of Venice: St. Marks Cathedral, the Bridge of Sighs and the lagoons of Venice. We had several hours to shop and eat and explore the city. One of my favorite parts of the day was taking a gondola ride through Venice; each gondola seated five or six people and slowly made its way around and through Venice.
Another very characteristic thing of Venice is its glass. We had the chance to go to a glass blowing factory where a "glass master" gave us a demonstration on how to make glass objects. He made a vase and a horse figurine in about 10 minutes - very impressive.
After our day in Venice, we returned to Padova where we had the rest of the night to explore the city. There were two main squares near our hotel called "piazzas", that are the main places to go out to at night-full of restaurants, bars and gelaterias. Padova is a lot less commercial than Rome and Florence and less set up for tourists. It seems a lot less crowded. Our next stop is Como, supposedly home to one of the most beautiful lakes. We are stopping in Verona, to have lunch on our way to Como. Verona is home to the infamous Juliet's balcony. After Lake Como, it's on to Salt Lake City for us gals. Talk to you soon, Ciao.
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This morning we woke up at 9 am to get ready for a day of sightseeing in Lake Como, Italy. On the drive over, it was obvious that Como was known not only for its lake and cathedrals, but rather breathtaking landscape that surrounds the city. A short 10-minute bus ride brought us to the main square (or piazza as they say) where we boarded a boat and took a tour of the lake. The lake stretched on for miles as we took in the beautiful landscape and architecture. Houses and villas were perched on the massive hills and some right up on the water. A couple of perks of the boat ride included seeing villas belonging to celebrities such as George Clooney. Unfortunately, we weren't able to see the actor himself. We got off the boat in a little town called Bellagio, where there were souvenirs shops, jewelry and silk shops, and restaurants. After an hour or so of exploring Bellagio, we boarded the boat for our return trip back to Como. We were given a couple hours in Como to have lunch and explore. Some of us went looking at the shops and a few went up the lift. This lift took us all the way up the mountain where the entire city of Como could be seen. The houses were so tiny from all the way at the top. Finally after a cone of gelato, we met up and returned to the hotel for a little rest before our last game in Italy.
The drive to the game seemed like it was 10 hours, but it was only about two. We arrived earlier than expected so the girls had plenty of time to shoot around. The gym was another typical recreation center gym, yet a few more locals came to enjoy the game than before. The team was anxious and excited to play this last game. Apparently the competition would be at its best this night. They were the top division we would compete against. It was much better game than the previous ones, only because the Italians gave us a run for our money a couple times. However in the end we were able to pull off a convincing win. Sadly, we all knew that was Katie Kings last time playing with us. She went out strong though. We will miss her.
After the game we stopped off at an Autogrill, where we all got a little something to eat before heading back to the hotel. By the time we got back it was close to midnight, and we all went to our rooms to pack and get ready for a long day of travel the next day.
This trip has been amazing. I still cannot believe I've seen the things I have...things you only hear about in movies and on the news. It has truly been an experience of a lifetime. We all are so lucky to have been a part of this. It went by so fast. It's kind of sad to know we are leaving already. But now that it's all over, I'm sure everyone is looking forward to their summer breaks. I, in particular, am excited to finally get cleared to play! It's been tough having to just watch this whole time, but I am ready and eager to get back into the mix. I don't want to look too far ahead, but I have a great feeling about next season.
Have a happy, sun-filled summer.
Ciao,
Hennasea
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Ciao! This trip has been an amazing experience of a lifetime. Italy is filled with so much history. Every church, piece of art and architecture have the most unbelievable stories behind them. I must say I do wish I would have done a little more homework on each place beforehand, but I did learn a lot. The culture difference was a little shocking. As Mandy Munns and I waited patiently in line at a pizza shop we were rudely butted out of line by several people. We came to find that they don't have lines; you just push yourself to the front for service. You can imagine we were to the front of the line in no time, thanks to Munns. Their driving is a lot like their lines. There aren't really any. Everyone just weaves in and out to find the fastest route for him or herself. Lots of mopeds are in Italy. Oh and they don't really stop for pedestrians. There are pigeons and seagulls everywhere in Italy. I won't say any names but we had at least four people get pooped on.
Our games were a blast and we were undefeated. Everyone played extremely well and we improved every game. The other teams were friendly and welcoming. The refs on the other hand were not. We found they have not discovered the pivot foot yet in Italy. We were called for a million travels, but you can't argue with someone who doesn't speak much English, so we just laughed about it.
All-in-all the entire trip was amazing. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to go. I am sad to say it's over, but happy to have had the experiences and memories to carry with me for the rest of my life.
Players Mentioned
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